Not a Normal Year
by Autumn-Angel-31
Summary: DISCONTINUED. Welcome to the 3rd year at Duel Academy! So, enters the exchange students from the other Duel Academy braches, along with Ariana Ryan, OC . She'll battle duelists and her own feelings towards a fellow exchange student. Jim X OC. May cut out love triangle.
1. OC Bio!

Not a Normal Year

OC Bio

Hi all! This is the Bio for my OC for my new GX story! The first chapter will follow this, so look at this first so you get the feel on my OC. Any suggestions for her are welcome! Please, just no flaming!

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Name: Ariana Ryan (Pronounced Air-ee-anya) Everyone calls her Ari.

Age: 18 at first, but turns 19 in October

Date of Birth: October 20

Gender: Female

Hair: Light blonde, wavy, a little below shoulder level. Wears in a variety of styles.

Eye: Bluish green

Year: 3 (season 3) Exchange student from Domino

Rank: Obelisk Blue

Height: 5'4 to 5'5

Origin: Japanese/American (she's from Domino)

Love Interest: Jim 'Crocodile' Cook/ Axel Brodie. They both have feelings for her, and she has feelings for both of them. It tears her up inside because she can't chose.

Famliy: Mom- Ellen Ryan. (Head surgeon at Domino Hospital. She was brought up in the country side.)

Age: 42

Dad- James Ryan (CEO of his own company that does business with KaibaCorp. He comes from a well off family) her parents are divorced and fight all the time.

Age: 46

Mom's Parents- Live on a small farm in the countryside. Her grandmother is a nurse and her grandfather is farmer/truck driver.

Uncles: Her mother's two brothers. One older, one younger. (Ellen Ryan is the middle child). The oldest is an auto mechanic and the younger is a vet. Her mother won a scholarship to med school. Ari also has 3 cousins on her mother's side.

Dad's Parents: Ari really doesn't care for them because they are kind of snobbish and don't like her mother that much.

Appearance: Blue jeans, with black just below the knee high heel boots under them, purple tank top with black lace around the v of the tank top. Jean jacket with elbow length sleeves. The jacket is the same color as her jeans. She wears a sapphire blue oval crystal with silver edging around the outside on a black chord.

Personality: Smart, especially in history. She can speak many languages. She doesn't like people pick on her friends. She is fiercely loyal. She can tend to be sarcastic and blunt. And she IS NOT a morning person.

Duel Monster Spirit: Harpie Girl

Signature Monster: St. Joan (I have that card! )

Favourite Monster: St. Joan and her Harpies

Back-story: Ari was born into a world that some girls dream about, but it was far from it. Her father has his own successful company and her mother is a world known surgeon, so it's safe to say that her family is well off. Her parents weren't home as much as she would have liked. Her mother always tried to be there, but as her career took off, she became too busy. But she always made an effort. Ari's father on the other hand, seemed to think that his business was a little bit more important. Her parent's marriage started to fall apart when she was about 9. It turns out that her father was unfaithful to her mother for a number of years and that was followed by a nasty divorce.

Ari attended boarding school since her parents separated. Her mother hated her being away, but decided it was the best that she not be caught in the middle. When the divorce was finalized, her parents shared custody of Ari, but Ari preferred her mother because she was angry at her father for his cheating. Plus she didn't like how her father changed girlfriends so much. Ari's father is now with an up and coming fashion designer, named Trixie who just made her big break. The problem, Trixie is 24. This makes Ari really upset, because Trixie is old enough to be her sister. So, this causes Ari to be really cold towards both of them. And it gets worse because Ari's father proposes to Trixie before Ari headed to Duel Academy. But, as much as Ari hates the idea, Ari likes Trixie, even though she will be her step mom, she is like a big sister to Ari and doesn't treat her meanly, even though Ari tries to be cold towards her.

Ari's mother taught her duel and she taught herself the rest. She gets her inspiration for duelling from Mai Valentine because she was such a strong duellist, even though she lost Duellist Kingdom and Battle City. That's why she has some Harpies in her deck, along with light monsters.

Ari attended boarding school until she transferred to Duel Academy in her last year of the High School level. After High School, she wants to become a historian, even though her father wants her to go into business. Ari works at the Domino Museum in the summer.

Hobbies: Duelling, baking, cooking, history, languages and defence training, which her father made her take so she could defend herself if she needed to.

Deck: Wind and Light Cards. (Based on my real life deck) Here are some of her cards.

Harpies 1, 2, & 3

Harpie Queen

Harpie Girl

Harpie's Baby Pet Dragon

Cyber Harpie

Harpie Lady Sisters

St. Joan (including the 2 required for fusion; Marie the Fallen One and The Forgiving Maiden)

Along with Harpie and Wind support cards.

Deck Strategy: Powering up her Wind monsters and getting her St. Joan onto the field.

I might make up some cards to support St. Joan.

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So, what do you people think? Good, bad or so-so? Suggestions are welcome!


	2. Arriving at Duel Academy

Not a Normal Year

Not a Normal Year

Hiyas! This is Autumn-Angel-31! Just call me Autumn because it's a bit shorter than the whole pen name! This is my new GX Fic, the idea just popped into my head, and I started to develop it!

This is my version of the third year, with the exchange students, along with my OC Ariana Ryan, another exchange student from Domino Preparatory Academy (sucky name, I know) a boarding school in Domino. She never attended a duelling school before, and wanted to give it a go. This is the product of my now GX obsessed brain and many hours thinking and plotting. So enjoy.

Note: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY OC! If I owned GX, it would involve a little more romance and more craziness!

I big thankies to my Big Sissy (who sadly doesn't have an account on here yet), who listened and read my OC Bio.

THANKIES B.B.! (B.B. is my nickname for her). This one's for you!

Enjoy! No flames please, if so, I will throw my overweight and antisocial cat at you! Constructive criticism is welcome though! I'm always looking for ways to improve!

Please review!

_Italic are thoughts_

_--_

Chapter 1

The skies above Duel Academy were clear and blue. Many students were milling around in anticipation of the arrival of 5 exchange students. Some were confused why there were 5 students, when there were only 4 more Duel Academies; excluding the one they're at. All the students were exciting, save for one who was still asleep in his Slifer Red dorm room.

Syrus Truesdale was furiously trying to wake up a still sleeping Jaden Yuki. But, trying to wake up Jaden was like trying to tell the tides to recede. "Jaden! Wake up please! You're going to be late for the pep rally and introduction ceremony!" Syrus yelled.

"Hmmmm? Did you say something Sy?" a now semi awake Jaden asked.

Syrus sighed and said; "Just get dressed and I'll fill you in on the way to the gym."

--

After Jaden got dressed, the duo made their way to the gym, only to meet Alexis Rhodes walking towards the helicopter pad. "What's up guys?" she asked.

"Nothing much. We're just heading to the gym to await the arrival of the exchange students." Syrus said.

"It's going to be sweet! I can't wait to duel them!" a now fully awake and energetic Jaden said. "By the way, why are heading to the helicopter pad Alexis?"

"I'm meeting one of the exchange students. She's arriving by helicopter instead of boat. And Chancellor Sheppard asked me to show her to her dorm and to the gym." She explained.

Just then, a black helicopter flew overhead and headed towards the helicopter pad. "I better get a move on! I'll see you guys at the pep rally!" she said over her shoulder as she ran off.

--

In the helicopter

--

"What a breathtaking site!" an 18 almost 19 year old with wavy light blonde headed girl whispered to herself.

Ariana Ryan was on her way to Duel Academy as an exchange student. Her first time at a duelling school. Yes, she played Duel Monsters, and she thought she was pretty good. Not a pro, but good. Ari, as she preferred to be called, had heard about the exchange program before school let out the year before. She begged her mom to let her go, making the argument that it was her last year of High School before college and she wanted to try something new. She was surprised that her mom agreed and let her come.

"Ms. Ryan, we're ready to land." said the pilot. "Please brace yourself for the landing."

"OK. Thank you." she said while she fiddled with the sapphire blue oval crystal that hung around her neck. She got it on a trip to England with her mom before the summer was over. That was the best vacation she remembered having, even though her mom was on business there. Her mom was head of surgeon at Domino Hospital and was speaking a conference there and had a week of. Ari went with and found the necklace at a charming little shop in one of the small towns they visited.

Just then, the helicopter touched down and a minute later, the pilot opened the door and helped Ari out. Her legs felt like Jell-O from being in the helicopter. She straightened up and looked around. It was even more beautiful from the ground as it was from the air! Ari then spotted a girl with dark blonde hair and brown eyes running towards her.

"You must be one of the exchange students." she asked.

"Yes I am." Ari said. "And you are?"

"Oh! I forgot my manners. I'm Alexis Rhodes. The Chancellor asked me to meet you."

"Oh. That's very nice. I'm Ariana Ryan. But you can call me Ari." Ari said.

"OK. You can call me Alexis." Alexis said. "I'm here to show you to your dorm and then to the gym for the introduction ceremony. But we must hurry! It's going to start soon!"

"Oh. Ok." Ari said. She turned to the pilot who just finished pulling out her luggage. "Thank you." She said to the pilot.

"You're welcome Ms. Ryan. Have a good time here." He said as he started to climb back into the helicopter.

Ari grabbed a satchel from the ground near her luggage and pulled it on over her head. She then grabbed the handle of one of the big rolling suitcases. "Alexis, do you think that you could grab the other one for me?" she asked the other girl.

"Sure thing. By the way, what's with the huge suitcases?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure what to bring. So I just brought what I thought was needed, which happens to be a lot." Ari said with a slight sweat drop. Alexis laughed as they headed towards the Academy.

"Alexis, do you know where I'll be staying?" Ari asked out of curiosity.

"Yep. All the exchange students are staying in the Obelisk Blue Dorms. You'll be staying in the girl dorms. The Chancellor also got you a room across from mine, so you'll have someone you already met near, in case you need anything." Alexis said. "Oh and The Chancellor asked me to give you this." she continued as she handed Ari a PDA. "This has all you need on it. Your class schedule, a map of the school and grounds and contact info. I hope you don't mind, but I put my PDA number in there." (I don't know if PDA's have them, but let's pretend for the sake of the story. K?)

"Oh, that's very kind of you Alexis." Ari replied with a smile. "Do you know anything about the other exchange students?" she asked.

"Not really. All I know is that they're from the other 4 branches of Duel Academy. And I think we're getting an exchange professor too. Oh! And the other exchange students are guys!" Alexis finished with a slight smile.

"Just great! I'm the only female! The testosterone will be flowing freely!" Ari said with an over exaggerated eye roll.

"I know how you feel! I'm about the only female out my whole group of friends!" Alexis said. The two girls burst out laughing. "You know what Ari? I think we'll get along just fine this year!"

"I think you may be right!" Ari said. They were almost to the dorm, when Alexis asked Ari what school she came from. Ari replied "I went to Domino Preparatory Academy. I know it isn't a duelling school, but I can hold my own in a duel."

"Neat. What kind of deck do you use?" Alexis asked.

"Mostly Wind and Light monsters. Would you like to see?" Ari asked.

"Could I?" Alexis asked.

"Sure. How about after the whole ceremony thing?" she replied.

"That would be good. I'll find you after the ceremony." She replied as they finished the walk to the dorm.

--

Fast Forward to the Ceremony-Behind Stage with the other exchange students, minus Jesse, of course.

Ari walked backstage to a waiting room type thing. She nervously looked around. Alexis was right! The other exchange students were guys!

She looked onstage and spotted the Chancellor on stage, waiting for the gym to fill up and settle down, along with two other guys, who she assumed was two of the professors. One was short and chubby, while the other one was tall and dressed rather strangely. _"Holy crap! There's A LOT of people out there! I hope I don't trip and make myself look like an idiot on the first day." she thought. _She sighed and took a step back only to knock into someone. "Oh! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. She turned around to come face to face with one of the other exchange students, a tall guy with a cowboy hat and a bandage over his right eye. _"Darn! He's not bad looking… Gah! Don't think that!"_

"That's all right." He said. "Are you another one of the exchange students?"

By this time, Ari snapped out of her inner thoughts. "Yes. I'm Ariana Ryan. But you can call me Ari." she said as she held out her hand for him to shake, but instead he took her hand and kissed it lightly.

"I'm Jim 'Crocodile' Cook from South Academy. But you can call me Jim. And this is Shirley" he replied as he pointed to the crocodile on his back.

"I see chivalry isn't all that dead. And it's nice to meet you." Ari said with a smile.

"Nice to meet ya too" Jim replied with a smile. "How about I introduce you to the others?"

"Umm. Ok." Ari replied. Jim grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to the others.

"Everyone, this is Ari, another exchange student." he said.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ari." said a guy with spiky hair and glasses. As he said it, he gave Ari a once over, which creeped her out. "I'm Adrian Gecko, from East Academy."

"Nice to meet you" Ari said as she pulled her jean jacket around her self-consciously. "What about that guy over there?" she asked Jim as she pointed to a guy with dark skin who was talking to a tall, creepy looking man.

"That's Axel Brodie from West Academy. And that other guy is Professor Viper, also from West Academy." He replied. "He's not all that sociable though."

"Where are you from Ari?" Adrian asked.

"Domino Preparatory Academy. I know it's not a duelling school, but I can still hold my own." She replied to their surprised stares. "Hey. I thought there were supposed to be 5 exchange students, but I count only 4 of us. Where's the one from North Academy?" she asked. She didn't get an answer because the Chancellor started the ceremony.

"Attention students." he started. "Welcome to a new year at Duel Academy. This year we have the pleasure of having some exchange students from the other branches of Duel Academy, plus a special student. So without further ado, please welcome; Adrian Gecko from East Academy!"

Adrian walked out onstage and gave a little wave, while some of the students clapped.

"And from South Academy. Jim 'Crocodile' Cook!" Sheppard continued. Jim walked onstage and waved enthusiastically. Some students snickered at the sight of a crocodile on his back. He stood next to Adrian.

"From West Academy, Axel Brodie!" Sheppard said. Axel simply walked out and stood next to Jim. Some students clapped, for fear of him.

"Next, from North Academy, Jesse Anderson!" Sheppard said. But no Jesse. "Hmm. Maybe he's a little late. Anyway, onto our special exchange student, Ariana Ryan from Domino Preparatory Academy!"

Ari took a deep breath, and patted her hair, which was held in place with a black beret at the middle of her head. There were a few stray hairs that framed her face, along with her right swept bangs. She walked out onto the stage and smiled and waved, even though some students were remarking about a Prep. School girl being a duelling school. She took a place next to Axel, who merely glared at her. "Did I grow an extra head or something?" she asked sarcastically.

"You don't belong here." he merely said.

"Says you." she shot back. "Just wait."

"For what?' he shot back.

"For when I prove you wrong" she simply said. Before she could say anything else, the gym doors swung open and a blue/teal head boy ran in.

"Sorry I'm late! This place is bigger than North Academy!' he said with a hint of a Southern accent. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Jesse Anderson." he said and hopped up onto the stage and took a place next to Ari.

"I'm Jesse Anderson. I don't believe we met on the boat." he said.

"We didn't. I arrived later by helicopter. I'm Ariana Ryan, but call me Ari." she replied.

"Nice to meet ya." He replied.

"Same here. It's a pleasure to meet the Crystal Beast Duellist." She said with a smile.

"OK then. And for our guest professor, Professor Viper from West Academy!" Sheppard continued. (Sorry, I can't spell his first name!). "I hope you all make them feel welcomed here at Duel Academy. Classes start tomorrow."

"Before they leave Chancellor, may I say something?" Viper asked.

"Of course." Sheppard replied.

"OK. Listen up. I'm only going to say this once. I want to increase the duelling level of you students. So, starting tomorrow, we'll be having survival duels. You all must each duel once a day. And you loose, you will be brought down one dorm level. Once you hit the bottom level, you will be expelled. Is everyone clear?" Viper finished. His voice made chills run up and down the student's spines. "And you will be all required to wear a Bio-Band. This will monitor your duel energy, which I'll monitor."

Crowler and Bonaparte started to argue about Viper scaring the students which was their job. Sheppard merely cut them off.

Ari raised an eyebrow at this. "Scared now are we?" Axel said with a slight smirk.

"In your dreams. I'll show you all what I can do. Just you wait." Ari snapped, fire blazing in her blue-green eyes.

"Axel, leave the sheila alone." Jim said from beside Adrian. Axel just frowned.

"_I think that's all he knows to do is frown." Ari thought with a chuckle._

"Also, I'll like to have an exhibition duel, starting in one hour. And our duellists will be; Jesse Anderson and the Duel Academy champion." he continued.

Ari saw a boy stand up. He had black spiky hair and was dressed entirely in black and had onyx eyes. She then saw Alexis hit the kid in the head and pull him down and said something to him that made him scowl. Alexis saw Ari and she waved. Ari waved back.

"Will Jaden Yuki please stand up?" Sheppard said. This made the black clad boy scowl even more. Ari saw a boy with brown hair and eyes wearing a red jacket stand up and wave. _"That must Jaden Yuki." Ari thought._

"All right, you are all dismissed. The duel starts in one hour. Both duellists have that time to prepare." Viper said and walked off stage. The exchange students followed.

Ari got backstage and sighed; "That's finally over." Suddenly, a couple of girls approached them.

"Can we take a group photo of you guys for the yearbook?" one of them asked. ( A/N: I don't know if they have yearbooks, but let's roll with it, OK?)

"I think that would be an excellent idea." Chancellor Sheppard said. "Stand together now!" Ari and the others stood together, with her in the front and the guys standing behind her.

"Smile now!" the girl said. They all smiled, except Axel, who frowned as usual. "Thank you! That will be great in the yearbook and I'll give all you guys a copy as a souvenir." She said then she took off. Ari looked at the clock on the wall. She'd better go and meet Alexis, who said that she'll introduce her to her friends and give her a tour of the school.

"Where you heading off to Ari?" Jim asked.

"I'm going to meet the girl who the Chancellor asked to show me around." She replied.

"Oh. Ok. I thought you'd want to come with us." He said.

"Oh." Ari replied, with a very faint blush, which she hated. "How about later? I'll meet you guys after the duel between Jesse and that Jaden kid." She said.

'Fine. See you then." Jim said as Ari turned around and walked down the steps that headed out into the gym floor.

"She isn't a bad looking one." Adrian said with a smirk. "Kind of cute. And spunky. And she told Axel off." Jesse, Jim and Adrian laughed. Axel just frowned. (A/N: Again! Does he EVER crack a smile! He might later though…)

Only if they knew what was to come and how Ari would play into it. And how she would play into a couple of their hearts……

--

OK! That's all for this chapter! I could keep going, but my poor hands! What do ya think? Good, Horrible, So-So? Do you like Ari? Are the cannon characters too OC? Let me know! Remember, no flames please! Suggestions are welcome!

Oh, and I'm not writing Jesse and Jaden's duel, because; A) I can't write duels just yet and b) We all know what happens!

I'll give cookies to all who review!

Autumn taking off!

Later!


	3. Meeting Everyone

Not a Normal Year

Not a Normal Year

Chapter 2: Meeting Everyone

Hi all! Here's the second chapter! Thanks to all who reviewed! A HUGE thanks to KolaByNikola, whose editing/co-authoring this fic. Thanks!

Also I need another OC who's going to duel Ari, so I'll take suggestions! Also, this isn't going to be total rewrite of the show. I'll include some parts and add other parts of my own.

I'm might need help with Ari's duel. So if anyone is willing to lend a hand or have any tips, feel free to message me!

So enjoy! And please review! Reviews should be made out to both KolaByNikola and myself. Couldn't have done it without her!

Oh, and I STILL DON'T OWN GX! Only if I did…… let's not think about that….

Oh, and please check out the poll on my profile! Help me decide whom Ari should end up with!

Oh, and a couple of Author's Notes: 1). Ari uses the same duel disk as Jaden and the rest. 2) No offence to any Chazz or Crowler fans out there! There is a little bit of fun poking at them in this chapter.

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Chapter 2

Meeting Everyone

Ari looked around the crowded gym for Alexis, but it was hard to find her with all the people. Then she heard someone calling her. "Ari! Over here!" She turned around and saw Alexis waving to her. Ari smiled and manoeuvred her way through the crowd of people towards Alexis.

"Hey, Alexis. What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing much. I just wanted to introduce you to everyone. Come on! They're waiting outside the gym for us." Alexis said, leading her from the gym. "So, what were the other exchange students like?" she asked curiously.

"Hm. Well, I just met them." Ari said. "Jim seems nice. Adrian is, well I don't know. I guess he's alright. Jesse seems friendly. And Axel… he's… he's not too sociable. That's all I got. I might know later. I'm meeting up with them later to take a look around the school." Ari continued while they were walking to the place where Alexis said her friends were waiting. "I hope your friends will like me." Ari said a little nervously.

"I'm sure they will. Just be warned, one of them can get a little excited dueling." Alexis said with a smile. "Look, there they are now!" she said as she pointed to a group of people standing by the outside entrance to the gym. Alexis waved at them. "Hey everyone, this is Ari. Ari, this is everyone."

"Hello. It's nice to meet you all." Ari said with a smile, even though she was a little nervous. She scanned the group of people.

The first one introduced was a shorter boy with bluish hair and glasses, whose name was Syrus Truesdale. Next, was the boy who Ari had seen being hit by Alexis, who was introduced as Chazz Princeton, or as he introduced himself as 'The Chazz'. Then there was a well-built guy who wore a bandanna over his thick dreadlocks, whose name was Tyranno Hassleberry. And finally there was Jaden Yuki, who Ari already seen and was ready to duel right there. "_So he's the one who gets excited about duelling_." Ari thought.

After the round of introductions, and Ari saying that she'll duel Jaden later on, they sat down on the ground under a tree, where Ari showed Alexis her deck. "I see you like Harpies, Ari," Alexis commented.

Yep. I think Mai Valentine is a great duellist. Plus Harpies are a creature of Greek Mythology. I'm kind of a history buff." She replied. "I also have St. Joan in there. She's based on the actual woman Joan of Arc. She had visions from God and entered the 100 Years War to fight the English and… I'm rambling again aren't I?" she asked after she seen their blank stares. They nodded. "I'm sorry! I get like that when I talk about history" she replied with an embarrassed blush.

They passed the rest of the time talking about this and that. Ari heard stories from the previous 2 years, which for her was hard to believe. Ari thought that though Alexis's friends were a diverse bunch, they all were loyal to each other; just by the way they talked of the past.

Then, about 10 minutes before the exhibition duel, an announcement came over the PA, asking the two duellists and the students to proceed to the gym to be seated. Ari and the rest got up and made their way to the gym. Alexis handed Ari her deck, which Ari slipped into her Academy issued duel disk and they made their way to the gym.

"This is going to be a sweet duel! It's not every day I get to duel a guy with a legendary deck!" Jaden said while pumping his fist into the air.

"You think every duel is a 'sweet duel', Slacker," Chazz scowled.

"Ah Chazz. Every duel should be fun," Jaden said.

"I agree with Jaden. You should try to enjoy a duel." Ari nodded in agreement. Jaden gave Ari a thumb up in agreement.

Chazz just scowled again, while the others laughed.

--

(Fast forward to the gym)

--

Ari and the rest bid Jaden good luck and went to find seats in the gym. They found seats in the sixth row, near the middle, so they had a pretty good view of the duel. Ari sat next to Alexis. The seat next to Ari was empty, so she laid her satchel on it and turned to talk with Alexis until the duel started. Ari was teaching Alexis how to call a person, namely Chazz, an idiot in other languages.

"In French, it's imbecile. It doesn't matter if you're talking to a guy or a girl." Ari explained.

"That's ne…." Alexis trailed off and her eyes went wide. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" she asked, slightly startled.

Just then, Ari felt something nudge her leg. She looked down and saw what Alexis was referring to. Nudging her leg was a huge green crocodile.

"Oh! Hello, Shirley." Ari said to the crocodile. Ari then turned to Alexis: "That's Jim's crocodile friend, Shirley. If Shirley's here, I think Jim is nearby," she explained to Alexis, who was still eying the croc. Just then, the said South Academy student jogged up with Adrian behind him. Axel wasn't with them. He was standing down on the floor talking to Viper. Ari watched them closely.

"_Those two seem quite thick. I don't really trust them. Viper is way too creepy for my taste. And I thought Domino Prep's teachers were scary." Ari thought while frowning a little._ Jim's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"There you are, Shirley! You shouldn't run off like that!" he said while out of breath. "Oh. Hello there, Ari." he said with a smile.

Ari smiled back. "Hello Jim. Adrian." Ari said returning the smile, even though her smile faded slightly when she saw Adrian, but only Alexis seemed to notice this. "You're just in time for the duel. Oh, and this is Alexis. She's the one that's showing me around the Academy." Ari introduced the two guys to Alexis and the rest who were seated farther down. "Oh. Would one of you guys want to sit here?" she asked while she just her remembered her manners and her satchel on the empty seat beside her. To her relief, Jim sat down and not Adrian.

"_Whew! The farther Adrian is seated from me, the better I feel. I don't know what it is, but I don't really trust him. I could be over reacting, but…"_ Ari thought.

"What's on your mind, sheila?" Jim asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh nothing. Just wondering about whose going win," she said, while quickly pushing the previous thoughts out of her head. "Is Jaden as good as they say?" she asked Alexis.

"Yep. No one else here can beat him. Only Syrus's brother, Zane beat him in our first year and a pro named Aster Phoenix beat him last year. He even beat Professor Crowler," she answered. "And Crowler is the guy in the blue and pink coat." Alexis pointed out, due to Ari's confused look.

"I see. Are you sure he's a guy?" she asked with a chuckle. Alexis and the others laughed. "Well, he has interesting choice in fashion." she explained with a slight smile. Then, she frowned slightly, which made the others look past her to see Axel taking a seat next to Adrian. "I see the social butterfly has decided to grace us with his presence." Ari remarked, which made Jim and Adrian laugh.

"Watch it Prep Girl." Axel growled.

"I'm so scared." Ari said with a roll of her eyes. "What are you going to do? Glare me to death?"

"I'm not going to do anything. You'll get your just desserts," he said.

"And just how will I get those?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"When you find out you're in way over your head here." he said. "A Prep School girl doesn't belong at a duelling school."

Ari clenched her hands into fists and shot Axel a look that could have turned anyone to stone. Except Axel, who just smirked and looked like he was enjoying Ari's reaction. She looked like she could have killed him. She rose out of her seat a little, but Jim put his hand on her shoulder. "Just ignore him Ari. He's just trying to edge you on." he cautioned. So, Ari took a deep breath and closed her eyes and sat back down. She then turned to Axel with a fake smile on her face that could have been considered dangerous, on the count of the anger that was burning in her eyes.

"Oh, you're worried about me. So sweet." she said, her voice coated with sarcastic sweetness. "But, I can handle myself. Thanks anyway." Axel's smirk vanished.

"I told you to watch it." he warned, his voice carrying a dangerous edge. Now it was Ari's turn to smirk.

"Scared, Axel?" she taunted, her smirk still on her face. Axel made a move to get up, but Jim interfered.

"That's enough from you two." he said. Axel frowned and sat down and Ari continued to smirk.

"Big mouth for such a small girl," Axel growled under his breath, but Ari heard him and shot out of her seat and straightened herself to her full height.

"Would you like to say that to my face, Brodie?" she snapped. Axel got out of his seat also and faced her.

"Gladly. Your mouth is too big for your face. You should really learn how to keep it closed." he snapped. That was the last straw for Ari. She walked over to where Axel was standing, glared at him and then brought the high heel of her boot down on his foot. He didn't flinch, but she made her point.

Axel made a move towards her but Jim stepped in between the two. "I said that was enough from you two." he warned, but he was looking right at Axel. Axel grunted and sat down. Ari sighed and walked back to her seat.

"That felt somewhat good." she said to Alexis as she sat down. "Really relieves the stress."

Adrian turned to Jim. "I told you she was spunky." he remarked with a smirk. Jim nodded and then turned to Ari.

"Ari, be careful with Axel. He doesn't joke around. He can be dangerous," he warned.

"Axel and joke doesn't belong in the same sentence." she muttered. "I'll be fine. I can handle myself. Thanks anyway."

"I can see that." Jim said with a smile. Ari smiled a little back.

Suddenly, Viper took the stage and demanded the student's attention. He went on to explain about the Bio-Bands©. He then clamped one on each Jaden and Jesse.

"You are all to be here tomorrow morning at 8:30 am to get fitted for your Bio-Bands. Don't be late!" he warned.

"8:30 am! That's impossible!" Ari exclaimed. Alexis and the others looked at her. "I only get up at 8:30! That means I have to get up at like 7:30 in order to get ready! Why the mornings?! Plus, I'm not a morning person!"

"What takes you so long to get ready?" Jim asked.

"Are you serious?" she asked. "I have to get up, shower, and fight to get my hair to look proper, get dressed, eat and apply my make up! It all takes time! Am I right Alexis?"

"You are. It takes us girls longer to get ready." she agreed while nodding. The boys sweat dropped. Axel chuckled.

"Did you say something Brodie?" Ari asked with her eyes narrowed. Axel glared right back.

"Will you two stop it?" Alexis asked. "The duel is going to start." Ari crossed her arms and faced the duel that was just about to start.

After the duel, Ari was surprised that Jaden beat Jesse, with him having the Crystal Beast deck and all. He would have won if he had the Rainbow Dragon, but it wasn't created yet.

After the duel, Ari and the others filed out of the gym to enjoy the rest of the free day. Ari purposely walked past Axel and stepped on his foot again, making sure that her heel carried most of the pressure.

"Oh. I'm so sorry! How clumsy of me!" she apologized with the same fake sweet sugar-coated voice and smile. Axel growled again and Ari walked away, laughing slightly.

"_That'll teach him! That'll teach them all that I'm a force to be reckoned with. I'll show them all what Ariana Ryan can do, on the duelling field and off!"_ she thought confidently while she headed for the gym's door.

Ari and the rest caught up with Jaden and Jesse just outside the gym doors. They were talking about the duel and when they were going to duel again. Jesse was heading off with Jaden and the rest to the card shop and Alexis was heading to the girl's dorms with her two friends, Mindy and Jasmine. So that left Ari, Jim and Adrian to tour the grounds. To Ari's relief, Axel refused to come with.

So the tour started. They started with the school itself, since Ari already seen the gym and the girl's dorms. The school building surprised Ari. It was huge and modern. "Whoever built this school must have had A LOT of money in order to incorporate all this technology." Ari wondered aloud.

Adrian sidled up next to her. "It would take a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean something like millions." he estimated. He then gave Ari a smile, which she returned it, uncertainly.

"_Gah! What's with him? Why does he make me so uncomfortable?" she questioned inside her head. _She pushed those thoughts away again and looked out one of the windows. "Wow! Look at this view! You can almost all of the grounds from here!" she exclaimed as she walked up to it and leaned against the windowpane and gazed out at the scene before her.

It was quite a view. The sun's rays hit the ocean and made it sparkle like diamonds. Ari never saw such a sight. The sun's rays hit the sapphire coloured jewel on her necklace and sprayed the window's glass with rainbow coloured light. She was so mesmerized by the scene that she didn't notice Jim walk up beside her and lean against the wall beside the window.

"Isn't it amazing?" she asked a little breathlessly. "I've never saw anything like this at Domino Prep.!"

"Yeah, it's something." he replied. Ari looked at him and smiled. She noticed his uncovered eye. It was deep blue color.

"_He's some kind of handsome… GAH! Not again! Stop it Ari! You don't want to fall for a guy here! I'm not going to be my parents!" she mentally reasoned. _She quickly turned away and tried to hind the faint blush that appeared on her face. "Umm, maybe we should go see the cafeteria next. I'm starting to get a little hungry." she replied hastily. They all agreed to head to the Obelisk cafeteria for lunch, since it was almost lunchtime anyway.

Even the cafeteria was a sight to behold. Since it was the Obelisk cafeteria, it was a little grander than the cafeteria that Ari was used to. Actually, it was more of a 5 star restaurant than a school cafeteria. Ari's eyes went wide at the sight of it all. "O.K. I've definitely been going to the wrong school here. Look at all of this!" she exclaimed in amazement. Shirley growled in agreement. "I guess I'm not the only one who's getting hungry here." she laughed. "I'm at a loss on what to get. What do you think Shirley?" she asked the green crocodile.

"I think Shirley here wants a big steak. Don't ya girl?" Jim asked his crocodile companion. Shirley growled in agreement again while Ari laughed. They made their way to the line up. Some people stepped aside so as to avoid getting too close to Shirley. Others stepped aside so that Ari could get through, which was followed by whistling and guys hitting on her when she walked by. With each step she took, her face got a little redder.

When she finally made to the front of the line, a 3rd year Obelisk Blue guy weaseled his way right next to her and smiled at her. She gave him a small smile, but she was getting a little uncomfortable. When she grabbed her lunch and turned around to leave the line, he reached out and grabbed her…. bottom. She froze, as did the others in the line near them.

"Hi. My name is….." he didn't even get to finish his sentence, because Ari, while balancing her lunch tray, turned around and brought the heel of her boot right down, hard, really hard onto his foot. He cried out in either pain or surprise or both. Ari then turned around to leave but the idiot reached out and grabbed her wrist, spilling her lunch tray onto the floor.

"Let me go!" she yelled out in surprise. He only held on tighter and said; "No one embarrasses an Obelisk Blue!"

"_O.K. A guy has got me by the wrist. What did my defence teacher say? Let's see…" _she thought as she went over the years of defence training that her father made her take. _"That's it! Got it!" _she triumphantly. She brought the toe her boot into the jerk's ...um, soft spot. He let go of her wrist at once and she stumbled back. Her heel caught a piece of food that was on the floor and she would have probably hurt herself quite seriously if a certain student hadn't caught her from behind and stopped her fall.

--

Who's the mystery student? I bet you all can guess that one. Was it a OK chapter? Was it Good, Bad or So-So?

Whew! That's all for now! I could have kept going, but I wanted to get this up before the weekend and plus I have been at this since the day after the first chapter was posted!

Thanks again to KolaByNikol, for editing most of this chapter and to my sister, who edited the last little and who's giving me ideas! So please make reviews out to all of us, since I couldn't have done it without them!

Please review!

Oh, and take a sec to visit my profile page and answer my poll! Ideas are welcome! I hope this chapter was a little better laid out than the last one!

So, till next time, peace, love and sugary sweet things!

Autumn signing out!


	4. Chapter 4

Me: O.O …How's it going?

*crickets chirp*

Ya, I know WAY overdue update, but life (cough-school-cough) and writer's block got in the way. LOTS of writer's block. -_-'

**BIG** thanks to all who reviewed and are still interested in this story! Thanks for all your patience. You all get a cookie!

**Disclaimer: I, Autumn, ****DO NOT**** own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or any of its characters or places. I own Ari, my OC and my part of the plot. GX belongs to the people who created and not I. **

So, enough of my blathering! Let's get on to the chapter! Sorry if it's too short, but I wanted to get it updated.

Oh. P.S. Forgive me for the last chapter. Ari was Mary-Sue and I am going to fix that. I'm re-figuring things out a bit, such as what is going to happen, when and where the events of the story are taking place and also Ari's deck will be changed to an original deck that I am making. Also, I am **not** writing the story in the way that Ari is going to be added in every episode as a tag-along. The story is going to focus on what happens in other parts of the Academy. So basically, Ari is having her own little adventure. I'm also not sure about writing a duel. I don't know if I'll be able to.

_Italics = Thoughts_

Not a Normal Year

Chapter 3: Lunch Time Talk

Ari waited for the impact, but it didn't come. She opened her eyes and saw who caught her. A blush crossed her face.

She was looking into the face of her fellow Exchange Student. If you guessed Jim, you're right. "Are you alright Ari?" he asked while held her with one arm around her waist while trying to balance his lunch tray with the other.

She nodded, not trusting her voice. _"That was a close call there_." she thought inside her head. _"Thankfully Jim was there. He looks kind of handsome from this angle… GAH! STOP IT ARI!" _she mentally screamed. _"Just calm down! Breath!" _She took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but it seemed that her heart wouldn't stop beating like a drum. "Ummm Jim, I can stand you know." she told her fellow exchange student. "You can put me on my feet now." He obliged and stood her back on her feet.

"Are you sure you're O.K.?" he asked. Ari nodded again. Now, the jerk that caused this little upset recovered from his "injury" by now and was looking pretty mad.

"I told you no one embarrasses an Obelisk Blue!" he snarled. He took a step towards her but Jim interfered.

"I think you did enough of that yourself, mate." Jim remarked. "How about you run along before she embarrasses you farther?"

The Obelisk looked somewhat shocked that another one of the Exchange Students was telling him what to do. "What is it to you? What is she, your girlfriend?" he remarked. Ari turned red at this, either out of anger or embarrassment or both. But she recovered quickly and glared at the Obelisk jerk.

"Where are your manners? Threatening a girl! Shame on you!" she taunted. "You know what Jim? I think he may talk tougher than he duels." Jim smirked slightly. This really peeved off the Obelisk.

"I'll show you! You should learn to respect your upperclassman!" he shouted. He activated his duel disk. Ari went to activate hers, but a booming voice interrupted the would be duel.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The whole Obelisk cafeteria went deathly quiet. They all turned to see Chancellor Sheppard standing there, along with Bonaparte, Crowler and Viper. "What's going on here?" he asked a little more calmly. Ari opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Luckily, Jim spoke up.

"That bloke there was harassing Ari and she defended herself." he told the Chancellor.

"Is that true Ms. Ryan?' Sheppard asked.

"Yes sir." she admitted rather quietly. She always got nervous when confronted by authority figures.

"Well then. Since you're new here, I'll let it go this time. Just don't let it happen again. You wouldn't want me to contact your parents would you?" he warned as he turned and walked away, with the other professors behind him.

Ari gulped and nodded. "It won't happen again sir." After he was gone, Ari sighed in relief and turned to Jim. "Thanks Jim." she smiled.

"No problem." he smiled. They started walking back the line up, so Ari could get another tray of lunch. When she finally got another tray full of lunch, they walked to the table that Adrian saved for them.

"Impressive show there Ari." Adrian applauded.

"Thank you all. I'll be here all year." she said while bowing and setting her lunch tray down on the table. "I must work on my act though. When Sheppard showed up, I was speechless. It happens sometimes." She quipped while shrugging.

"You speechless? That's a laugh and a half." A voice sarcastically said from behind them. Ari turned around and saw Axel standing there with a self satisfied smirk on his face. She narrowed her eyes and looked ready to leap out and choke the living life out of him, but again put on her fake, sweet smile.

"Aww. Miss me that much Axel?" she taunted. Axel narrowed his eyes and also looked ready to kill, but again, Jim stepped in between the two.

"Ari, remember what the Chancellor said." he cautioned. Ari just sighed and nodded.

"I'm just wasting my breath on him." she muttered. She turned around and grabbed her tray and headed to the door. "I'm going to eat outside. You two can join me if you want."

"At least it's quiet now." Axel muttered. The other two just shook their heads and grabbed their trays and followed after Ari.

Outside

Jim and Adrian walked outside and saw Ari sitting on the ground under a tree growling and stabbing viciously at a piece of chicken on her plate of chicken alfredo. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Ari, you know that chicken is already dead, right?" Adrian asked.

Ari looked up at them. "I know. I'm just envisioning that it's Axel's face." she said with a smirk, then sighed. "I'm only here half a day and I'm already ticking people off. That must be a new record." The two boys just shrugged again.

The rest of lunch passed with the exchange students chatting about their schools and such. So, all in all, it was a pleasant enough of a conversation. Well, that was until Adrian brought up the unpleasant part about her family.

"What about my family?" she asked a bit too quickly and sharply. The others kind of stared at her. "I mean, what do you want to know?" she said a little more quietly and composed.

Before she could get an answer, the ringing of a phone interrupted the unanswered question, which gave Ari some relief. The students all reached for their cell phones to check and see whose phone was ringing.

"Oh, it's mine. I'll just be a second." Ari said as she grabbed her phone and answered it. "Hello?" she asked as she spoke into the other end.

There was a pause as she listened to the person on the other end.

"Oh, Mom! Yes, yes, I got here all right. Yes Mom; I know where the infirmary is! Yes, I did take my first aid kit! Stop worrying, please! No, I haven't talked to Dad yet. Mom, don't start that again please! Aren't you at work? I'll call you later tonight. Ok. Talk to then. I love you too Mom." Ari answered. She then shut her phone, sighed, closed her eyes and leaned her head against the tree trunk.

"I take it that was your mother?" Adrian asked.

"That obvious huh?" she quipped.

"Just a bit." Adrian answered.

"Everything alright?" Jim asked, seemingly a bit concerned.

"Just my mom making sure I arrived in one piece." Ari replied with a hint of sarcasm. "No big deal. I'm used to it." The other two just nodded, but still the question of her family remained unanswered and Ari seemed happy to leave it unanswered, for she didn't answer it after the conversation with her mother.

"_The less people know about me and my family, the better it is for everyone. There's less of a chance of someone getting hurt." _Ari thought.

After a while, Adrian left and Jim and Ari were left, each trying to think of something to make a conversation. After a couple of minutes, Jim asked Ari if she had seen any of the grounds surrounding the Academy, which she hadn't.

So, the two decided to tour the Academy grounds. As Ari noticed before, Duel Academy Island was beautiful, but as she walked around the grounds, Duel Academy was becoming even more beautiful.

* * *

I know it's a short chapter, but I think it was time for another chapter. I'll pick up next time with some Jim and Ari getting to know each other! :) I hope everyone likes this chapter! A review would be appreciated; if there are any errors, let me know so I can make note of them.

I don't know when the next update will be, unfortunately. I don't have much time fore writing as I used to, but I'll try my best!:) Also, as I said in the beginning authors note, I'm re-planning things, so it will take a bit of time.:)


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